


Barson Drabbles

by UncommonbACEisst



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-11-12 15:34:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 1,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11164827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UncommonbACEisst/pseuds/UncommonbACEisst
Summary: These drabbles may be inspired by tumblr or anywhere else.





	1. Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> Drabble Prompt: "Energy" from thebarsondaily on tumblr  
> Drabble plot given to me by a friend of mine

With a stack of paperwork already on her desk, Olivia Benson went to work. Today was going to be an extremely busy day. She and her detectives were about to testify against a rapist they had zealously looked for all over the city. But, of course, the storm wasn’t over. Weeks of searching will turn out to be in vain if the defense wins. Buchanan was putting up one hell of a defense, claiming that it was the  _victim_  who was making moves on his client. But Olivia knew that Barba was going to rip that defense into shreds with the evidence that they have.

 

The lieutenant’s thoughts were interrupted when the man himself was at her doorway. The ADA was carrying his morning cup of coffee in one hand, the other holding a to-go-tray of several more cups.

 

“Morning, Liv,” Rafael greeted her.

 

Olivia noticed the unusual number of coffee he brought in. She leaned back into her chair, eyebrows raised in amusement, “That’s a lot of caffeine, counselor,”

 

The two of them shared a smile as Barba fully entered her office. He carefully set down the tray on her desk, making sure the liquid doesn’t seep out.

 

“I’m just making sure you have enough energy for what’s ahead,“ Barba told her, almost using his hand to gesture.

 

Olivia took a cup from the tray, “It feels like you’re starting to spread your caffeine addiction to everyone you know,“

 

It was Rafael’s turn to raise a brow, “Am I?”

Both of them laughed, and the usual feeling of comfort was in the air. This was one of the few breaks they would seldom get in the middle of this busy day, the calm before the storm. Before drinking her first cup of coffee for the day, she told him,

 

"Thanks," 


	2. Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drabble Prompt: "Surrender" from thebarsondaily on tumblr  
> These first two drabbles are related and chronological since I'm planning to write a one-shot soon. And this backstory I created (on the spot) was based on that one remark Barba made during "Padre Sandunguero"

When drinks were served at Forlini's, Rafael Barba grimly looked at his glass. He glared at it, as if he was waiting for lasers to shoot out of his eyes and vaporize his drink.

Olivia Benson quickly noticed this. She put down hers and reassuringly placed a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, we won, didn't we?"

Just a few hours ago, a serial rapist was found guilty. Despite the crap the defense tried to pull, he was sentenced to consecutively serve six counts of rape and one count of murder. But Olivia knew it wasn't simply the heaviness of the day that was bringing Barba down. 

He sighed, the anger and the weariness never leaving his face as he looked at her. He knew better than brushing it off because Olivia could easily read his expression, " I know. This case? It hit close to home,  _again_."

Olivia's eyes widened, but before she could speak, he quickly added, "No, no, I wasn't- I wasn't molested."

She didn't press and waited for him to explain, and he appreciated that. After almost five years of their friendship, Olivia has to know. And he surrendered. He told her about a fearful childhood. It was because his father would constantly beat him and his mother almost every day. One time, he earned a scar when he got in the way of the drunken path. The young Rafael learned to never ever get in his way. 

When Rafael finished, Olivia simply looked at him with understanding, unlike other people who didn't care or pitied him. A smile lifted his face, and he voiced that exact same thought to her. 

"You don't seem surprised that I have  _this_ hanging over me for the past few days, Liv," 

Olivia smiled at him sadly, "That's because we both have the same ghosts,"


	3. Forgiveness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drabble Prompt: "Suppress" from thebarsondaily on tumblr  
> Set after the Season 18 Finale. And I surpassed the 300 words or less rule, again.

The two of them were sitting on the couch, papers laid out on the small table, all the while silence engulfs the air. Silence was the perfect word to describe what was between them for the past few days. And Rafael points it out, "This needs to stop," 

If the circumstances were different, it would've been Olivia who called this out, but the rift deepened because of him. Now he's looking at her as if to say "cut the crap". So she stops pretending, stops suppressing the hurt inside her.

She answers his question but she can't bring her eyes to meet his, "I know," she forces a chuckle, "we never got to finish our conversation, didn't we?" 

Rafael tells her they didn't. He mirrors her, casting his eyes on the table and wringing his hands together, "Our own gods," He repeats the words she said to him that night, "Apparently, yours always want you to tell the truth,"

"Since Lewis," From the side of her eye she can see a look of guilt and understanding on his face. She finally turns her head to face him, "You were telling me to lie on the stand, and that goes against everything I've worked for after that," 

"I-" He starts, but he falters because he didn't expect this response, he didn't realize the effects his decisions made. He explains, almost speaking too fast, "I would've rationalized it with your favors from the past few cases. But, Liv, I didn't realize this was because-"

When she takes his hand in hers, he stops, and this time they look at each other. "It's okay," She says in understanding, squeezing his hand, "I just wanted to say why,"

A split-second later and she feels the warmth of his arms as they wrap around her, his head on her shoulder. She freezes for a while, taken aback by the action, but then she returns the embrace. 

"I'm sorry," He whispers.

"It's okay,"


	4. Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Fall" from thebarsondaily on tumblr  
> Constructive criticism is appreciated.

When he woke up in a hospital bed, the first thing Rafael thought of was that the courthouse security needed to improve,  _a lot_. The steps were most probably the most dangerous place in the entire continent. The beeping of the monitor near him was soft, but loud enough to be heard. He was in a hospital gown, so he could only assume that his now-bloody suit was unceremoniously stashed in an evidence bag. He didn't like it anyways. But now wasn't the time for being sarcastic, he was shot, for god's sake. 

As he slowly regained his senses, he was aware of soft breathing from his right. When he turned his head to the source of the sound, he saw the sleeping figure of Olivia Benson. His best friend was seated right beside his bed, one hand was on her lap while the other lay on the side of the white mattress. His eyes immediately caught the sight of blood on her hand- _His_ blood. Memories could only return in pieces, but he can remember her at his side after his fall on the stairs, she was applying pressure to his side, pleading for him to stay awake. 

 Olivia began to stir from her nap, as she did Rafael straightened up so he was sitting down on his bed. When her eyes finally opened, a small smile was on his lips, "Hey," 

She repeated his greeting and moved her chair forward for a bit. She intertwined her fingers with his, sighing in relief, "How long have you been awake?" 

"Just now," was his reply as he squeezed her hand. Suddenly, sharp pain shot through his wound, causing him to almost double over. Olivia looked at him with worried eyes, "I'll ask the doctors to get painkillers for you," Rafael nodded in reply as she slowly stood up. 

"Liv," He called out, and when she looked at him again, he continued, "thank you," She gave him a grin in response before she left the room.


	5. Wounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: "Broken", "Gentle", "Anger", "Secret", "Pause", "Trust", "Expectation", "Regret" and "Bruise" from thebarsondaily on tumblr  
> Ahhhh so late. I really need to stop giving Barba the angst. Constructive criticism is appreciated.

No matter how hard he fought, Rafael lost the case. It shouldn't be getting to him, he'd learned early on to move on from lost cases.

But instead of escaping with a slight bruise, he left with open wounds. 

So here he was, sitting on the couch in his office, nursing a glass of scotch. He felt pathetic, anger buried by the course of time was pumping through his veins again- at his father, for spending almost every single day of his life downing several bottles of alcohol. And at  _himself_ , for being a damn coward whenever the man lost control. 

His self-blame should've disappeared, but it never did, especially when he can't help but feel responsible for the acquittal. Another boy was going to live the rest of his life with an abusive father out on the street. All he could get was a restraining order, but that always isn't enough. 

Rafael slammed the glass down with a loud thud, afterwards he stood up and returned to his desk, attempting to clear out the thoughts in his head. Suddenly, the door swung open. He turned around, anger rising to the surface as he was about to admonish whoever entered unannounced, but he paused when he realized who was there.

Olivia was standing in the doorway, hand wrapped around the knob. Concern was visible on her features, prompting him to straighten up. He walked forward, "Hey, thanks for stopping by,"

She gave him a small smile as she sat down on the couch, and he began to pour her a glass.

"You can't just silently drink it away, Rafael," her voice was gentle, but there was never a hint of pity, "Talk to me about it," His past was a well-kept secret, locked away from everyone else, but he trusted her with the key, and of course she knew how this case had broken his spirit. 

And so he did talk to her about it, about how the regret never left him ever since he took the case. And as he expected, Olivia listened to him, placing a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. It was all he needed.

 


	6. Homecoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Gift" from thebarsondaily on tumblr  
> Constructive criticism is appreciated

Going back to work after a case that nearly cost him his job was almost difficult for Barba. News had spread at the speed of light and soon everyone in the DA’s office knew that Rafael Barba- an ADA often described as cold but determined, had given a witness money in exchange for a case-sealing testimony. Of course, only the DA knew the specifics, but courtroom gossip takes a long time to die down.

Rafael never expects it to.

At first, two weeks suspension seemed like a century, but the next thing he knew he was back at his office, seated on his chair, the occasional paperwork scattered on the wooden table, the nameplate back in its place as if nothing had happened.

 _As if nothing had happened_ . It was comforting, in a way, that he was back in what he considered his entire life. But Ashtonja and her grandmother almost had _their_ life and privacy taken away, exposed to the harsh air that carried crowds and rumors. Peace was all Rafael could offer after the victory and the consequence of the fatal action he had carried out.

A familiar figure dressed in dark grey is at the doorway, and he recognizes her as Olivia even before he looks up. There’s a smile on her face as she makes her way to his desk, a plastic object in her hand.

“Welcome back,” She says, and she extends her hand, the object now in full view. It was a plastic box carrying chocolates, and the corners of his mouth turn up as he accepts them, “How did you know I liked these?” His eyes settle on the box as he raises it high before they look at each other again.

“Well,” She sits down, “Noah helped me pick it out,” The mental image of the young boy holding his mother’s hand, running around the shelves, pointing at all the sweets in the store, warmed his heart.

He leans back into his seat, “Tell the little guy I said thanks,”

“I will,”

He straightens up,”Thank you, too, Liv,” She smiles and gently takes his hand.

He was glad to be back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back, everyone. This is basically my take on that deleted scene from an episode, this picture https://twitter.com/nbcsvu/status/843879127060893697  
> Also, oh is this fluff? I don't know


End file.
